8
comments:

Stefan Ellison
said...

As an aspiring animation writer very much influenced by Darkwing Duck and the like, I found all three parts to be a fascinating listen. Tom Ruegger and Tad Stones pretty much ruled my cartoon viewings back in the day, so this was very informative with a lot of new things learned.

In particular, I've always wondered what Pixar's stance was on Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. This is the first place on the Internet where it's been revealed. I have to say these interviews have been an incredible learning experience and insight into the industry.

darkwing duck was pretty middle of the road, especially where writing and animation were concerned. The designs were ok, if very derivative. Still, it was better than juvenile crap like qubert, jem (truly outrageous!), animaniacs, hulk hogan's rock and wrestling and the god awful tiny toons.

What? Darkwing Duck was very good, just like the other Disney Afternoon shows. They were actually the best quality shows Disney has ever produced. No wonder the new comics produced are very popular!Though the best one to me is TaleSpin!

http://www.animationsource.org/talespin/en/

Such a shame that Disney doesn't realize they are sitting on goldmines with the Disney Afternoon shows.

Tad is a talented survivor who has worked at every creative and management level and yet remains, above all, a diplomat. I wonder how well the current Disney execs who call him up comprehend the full extent of what Tad did for their company.

Great insights and in interesting career path. The whole Disney sequel saga was both interesting to hear from your point of view and irritating because when I was at feature I had my eye on that insidious trend. And, I do blame that trend as one of the primary factors of over-saturating the market with too much "product" and desaturating the Disney brand with the confusing (to the public) levels of quality-all for a quick buck and in the interest of driving down costs from an executive standpoint. I know there were many who felt that way. Having worked on "Atlantis", your initial spin-off in development sounded really intriguing and probably more interesting than the film itself. Too bad that never came to light. Too much to comment on about this conversation. But, it was a good one. Thanks for sharing.

Apart from the three Winnie the Pooh shorts Tad mentioned, there was also the fourth short "A Day For Eeyore" that was produced outside the Disney Studio by Rick Reinert Productions in '83, and a project for The Disney Channel using giant puppet costumed characters called "Welcome To Pooh Corner", but that was about it until that later Pooh TV series showed up.

The thoughts and observations of the leaders of The Animation Guild (TAG), Local 839 IATSE. Jason MacLeod is the Business Representative, Laura Hohman is the President. Mike Sauer is Assistant to the Business Representative.

This weblog reflects their individual personal opinions and does not necessarily represent the official position of the Animation Guild.

This blog is updated 2-3x weekly. If the most recent posts have not appeared, hit the Refresh button.